When Daniel Snyder was looking to sell the Washington Commanders, there were lots of names that weren't mentioned as potential buyers, but in reality, only a select few have billions of dollars to spare to buy a football team. One of those people thought to be in the running to buy the Washington franchise was Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and has a house in the DC area.
But a recent report by the Financial Times on Bezos and the Washington Post's heavy losses revealed that Bezos was not blocked by Snyder when he tried to buy the Commanders — he was purportedly “simply outbid” by private equity billionaire Josh Harris.
“[O]ver the past 18 months, several of Bezos’s big Washington bets have been derailed, blocked or overtaken by events — culminating in the upheaval at the Post, where the billionaire’s handpicked chief executive, Sir Will Lewis, is facing a newsroom revolt triggered by his radical attempts to stem losses at the news organisation, which last year hit $77 [million],” the article reads.
“I don’t think Snyder would have not sold to them if Jeff came in with a bid of $7 [billion],” an unnamed source told the Financial Times.
Josh Haris bought the Commanders for $6.05 billion
Although fans, players, and even fellow NFL owners were reportedly happy to rid themselves of Daniel Snyder, he was able to collect a massive payoff in the process. In April 2023, Snyder, after years of mismanagement, controversies, and alleged abuse, finally sold the team formerly known as the Redskins. Josh Harris, who also owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, as well as lesser stakes in the Premier League's Crystal Palace F.C. and the Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR team, led a group that purchased the team from Snyder for $6.05 billion.
In March 2023, a month before Snyder agreed to sell to Harris, a report, citing a source close to Jeff Bezos, claimed he was blocked from bidding on the Commanders. Shortly thereafter, another report surfaced that Bezos was not going to bid on the team. Others did, in fact, submit bids, including Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, the latter of whom claimed he bid $5.6 billion.
All in all, regardless of who ended up buying the Commanders, anyone would have been viewed as an improvement over Snyder. Since buying the team in 1999, Snyder earned a reputation as possibly the worst team owner in professional sports history. Possibly most notably, there was a longstanding controversy surrounding the team's former name, which was temporarily changed to ‘Washington Football Team' while a rebrand process began. The Commanders name and branding was ultimately selected, but since it is still a tie to Snyder's unpopular reign over the franchise, it would be unsurprising if it was eventually changed again.
The organization was also alleged to have fostered a toxic workplace environment that included sexual harassment and discrimination. The investigation led to a $10 million fine by the NFL and Snyder resigning from running the team's day-to-day operations, although his wife took over the responsibilities. Snyder was also accused of withholding ticket sale revenue from other NFL owners.
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